A 



,^f-i 




Class ___„Jl1 



Book 



13. 



1 



DISCOURSE 



1 <*5 



FKEACHED ON 



THANKSGIVING DAY, 



IN THE BENEFICENT CONGREGATIONAL MEETING-HOUSE, 



PEOYIDENCE, JULY 21, 1842. 



Br MARK TUCKER, D. D. 



mtHH^te^ i® M/(r(imirs^t 



PROVIDENCE : 
BENJAMIN F. MOORE, PRINTER, 

No. 19 MARKET STREET, UP STAIRS. 

1842. 



DISCOURSE 



Job V : 8, 9, 12, 13. / 2vouId sccJi- unto God, and unto God 
woidd I commit my cause ; which doth great things and un- 
searchable ; marvellous things ivithout nunihcr : He disap- 
pointcth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot 
perform their enterprise. He taketh the ivise in their own 
craftiness; and the counsel of the froicard is carried head- 
long. 

We are assembled this day in the house of God, by direction 
of the chief magistrate of the State, in compliance with a resolu- 
tion of the Legislature, " to confess before the living God cur sins 
as a people ; and with warm and contrite hearts, sincerely offer 
up to the Father of all mercies our deep and unaffected thanks- 
giving, for the signal interposition ojhis. Idnd and fatherly love so 
recently and stiikingly manifested in rescuing us from the horrors 
of civil war, anarchy and death: and to'beseech Him to impress 
this whole people with an active and abiding reverence for His 
holy laws, and that they may be enabled through the mercy of 
Jesus Christ to live in the daily recognition of the great and sol- 
emn truth, that they are all hastening to a final and eternal retri- 
bution." 

This resolution, so well expressed, ftills in with the sentiments 
of a large portion of this community. We have passed through 
a scene of peculiar trial and danger — we have been mercifully 
preserved ; and it meets my views, already given on another oc- 
casion, that we should publicly express our thanksgiving for the 
divine interposition. 

If there are others who have different views, I have no re- 
proaches to cast. So far as this difference is owing to political 
sentiments, I shall have no controversy with them. T never in- 
terfere in politics ; it is only to be regretted that political opinions 
have been permitted to bias many minds in judging of the wicked 
course of men who have committed the high crime of treason 
against the State. 

In relation to sermons preached on occasions like the present, 



I adopt fully the language of a distinguished statesman of Eng- 
land, comnioiiting on a sermon preached by Dr, Price in 1789. 
" Politics and the i)ulpit are tprms that have little afireement. 
]\o sound ought to be heard in tiie church but the healing voice 
of christian charity. The cause of civil liberty and civil govern- 
ment gains as little as that of religion by this confusion of duties. 
Those who quit their proper character, to assume what does not 
belong to them, are, for the greater part, ignorant both of the 
character they leave, and of the character they assume. Wholly 
unacquainted with the world in which they are so fond of med- 
dling, and inexperienced in all its afiairs, on which they pronounce 
with so much confidence, they have nothing of politics but the 
passions they excite." 

It is unhappy, and much to be regretted, that the strife of ])oli- 
tics stirs up such unholy passions. Owing to this, many excel- 
lent men letire from the world, and stand aloof from duties of 
great importance to the interests of the state. I never yet casta 
vote, or saw one cast, for any civil office, and never expect to do 
so ; yet I think every layman ought to make himself acquainted 
with civil concerns, and avail himself of all the privileges of free- 
men. This is perfectly consistent with the feeling of reliance 
upon God expressed in the text. I would seek unto God, and 
unto God would I commit my cause. For while God disapi)oint- 
eth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform 
their enterprise, he does it through the instrumentality of men who 
love their country, who, anticipating these wicked devices, lay 
their plans to defeat them. Policy must be opposed to policy, 
and, if need be, force to force. It would not be piety but pre- 
sumption, to sit still in the midst of enemies plotting the ruin of 
the State, arming themselves with deadly weapons, and say, unto 
God I commit my cause. God is honored by trusting in him in 
the discharge of active duty. His government over this world is 
a moral government ; events are brought about by human means. 
We must em[)loy our reason, exercise our judgment, and act vig- 
orously in view of circumstances. To pretend to commit our 
cause to God, and make no provision against want or danger, is 
to sink down to the level of the Mohammedan fatalist. 

The text, rightly understood, teaches us, in the day of ajiic- 



don or of danger to commit our came to God, Tlie encourage- 
ment to do this is drawn from his attrihutes and government. 

1. Because he is mighty, who docth great things ajid unsearch- 
able. Who hath an arm like God? His resources are infinite. 
He doeth his will in the armies of heaven, and ruleth in the king- 
doms of men. The great and unsearchahlo things which God 
hath done are a sufticient security to His people to trust in Him. 

When they were oppressed hy the king of Egypt, when plots 
were laid to exterminate them, first by hard service and wasting 
labor, and then by destroying all the male children, He who hears 
the sighing of the prisoner, interposed, and caused these very acts 
of cruelty to issue in their deliverance. Instruments were raised 
up. His Piovidencc co-operated with them ; the elements of nature 
were put in requisition ; by a series of wonders, effected by the 
out-stretched arm of Jehovah, they were brought out of the iron 
furnace, while their foes lay dead at their feet. Their song of 
thanksgiving has supplied tlie church with matter of praise in 
every age. 

When the three Hebrews, for their religion, were cast Into the 
fiery furnace, one like the Son of God appeared for them — they 
escaped unhurt. When Daniel, in his integrity, resisted the un- 
reasonable and wicked command of (he king, and refused to neg- 
lect the worship of God, for which he was thrown into a den of 
lions, he was preserved. When David was hunted by Saul, like 
a partridge upon the mountains, the Lord was his shield and de- 
fence. When ancient Israel were established in the promised 
land, and for their sins were often exposed to danger from their 
enemies, upon their repentance they were rescued by the might}' 
hand of God. Witness the case of Asa, who was threatened 
with destruction by the immense host of the Ethiopians. When 
he cried unto the Lord, wlio gives strength to them who have no 
power, lie granted him a signal victory, and the Ethiopians fled. 
A most interesting and instructive history of God's wonderful do- 
injrs is found in the 2d Chron. xx. The kingdoms of Moab and 
Ammon combined to crush Jehoshaphat and all Judah. Like a 
pious king he called upon God. O our God,tciit thou not judge 
them, for we have no might against this great company that Com- 
eth against us ; neither knojv we what to do: but our eyes are 



6 

« 

upon thee. They were assured they should triumph, but they 
were to go down against them. They had faith, they anticipated 
a victory, and sang praises before the battle. And the Lord de- 
livered their enemies into their hand. Were it needful we might 
refer to a m.ultitude of cases, under the gospel, in which God has 
interposed to deliver his people from impending ruin. The his- 
tory of the English Protestant Church is replete with facts, but 
we cannot now refer to tliem. 

2. A second reason why we should commit our cause to God 
is, that He is wise. He disojjpointeth the devices of (he crafty, 
so that their hands cannot jjerform their enterprise. He taJceth 
the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the froward 
is carried headlong. 

These striking words are illustrated and confirmed by the 
strange events on account of which we are assembled here to- 
day. 

We are called upon to give thanks, that on two particular oc- 
casions, our citizens have been preserved fiom death. That they 
were greatly exposed no one will deny. The General Assembly 
and the Chief Magistrate would not have summoned the people 
together to celebrate a deliverance from imaginary evils. On one 
occasion, men, under cover of night, attacked the Arsenal of the 
State with cannon loaded with such materials as not even the fiends 
of the French Revolution ever attempted to use. While that 
Arsenal was filled with the friends and relatives of these murderers, 
they attempted to dischai'ge these destructive guns. Had not a 
kind Providence interposed, who can say how great had been the 
waste of human life. The first drop of blood had incited the mul- 
titude, and revenge had glutted its rage by most horrible massa- 
cre. God so disappointed them that their hands could not per- 
form their enterprise. And on the next day, when stung by dis- 
appointment, incited by strong drink, and desperate with anger, 
they turned these instruments of death upon a|long line of the 
best men in the State, they were restrained by Him who carries 
the counsel of the froward headlong. The cowardly leader fled, 
and thus their devices were disappointed. The ISth of May 
will long be remembered as a day of signal deliverance. And 
were we to follow the impulses of grateful heart<=, we should now 



arise from our seats and strike the loud anthem of praise. Yea, 
let all the people praise Him. [Here the Organ struck up an 
Anthem of praise, and the congregation arose simultaneously from 
their seats.] 

That the audacious leader had murderous designs is proved, not 
only by the long course of drilling which preceded that day, and 
the arms that were taken, but also by subsequent events ; by his 
return to the State, surrounded by an armed host, by every de- 
monstration of war, by fortifications, ammunition, and the show of 
an army. The outrages that were committed evinced their dis- 
position ; that murders were not perpetrated was not owing to 
them, but to a kind Providence. Again they were disappointed ; 
this armed mob was dispersed without the loss of life. But in 
another quarter, where more mahgnity was shown, and greater 
danger existed, one miserable being was hurried into eternity. 
And how, amid darkness, and abuse, and outrage, and every evil 
passion, so little injury was done, we cannot explain. It was 
owing entirely to the hand of God. Let not our gratitude eva- 
porate in a song of praise. God can restrain the wrath of man. 

Christianity teaches us the value of human life as a season of 
probation. When we reflect, therefore, how many who were ex- 
posed to death and escaped by a miracle, have yet a space 
granted for repentance, we have infinite cause of thanks^ivino-. 
Their reckless conduct proved they were not prepared to meet 
their God, and if their subsequent defeat and punishment shall 
bring them to repentance it will be well for them. 

It is also matter of thankfulness that violence and outrage have 
been restrained. The show of resistance on the part of theo-ood 
people of this State, on the 18th of May, and the development of 
public feeling, convinced all the better part of the revolutionary 
party that there was a firm purpose to resist anarchy and sustain 
the laws, so that none but the most reckless and unprincipled 
among us gathered around the desperate leader when he returned 
a second time to carry out his designs. Men of no character, of 
ruined fortunes, of base feelings, flocked in from other States : a 
miserable multitude, ready for any thing. To suppose that such 
a rabble were influenced by a love of liberty, that a high and no- 



8 

ble sentiment inspired them, is to expect grapes from thorns and 
figs from thistles. They were stimulated by the promise of plun- 
der ; and had they succeeded, no one can tell what havoc had 
been made of property. The apocryphal history of Rhode Island 
might have been sober truth. That during their preparations and 
assemblage so little injury should have been done, is cause of 
f^ratitude. The recent disclosures have revealed plans of unpar- 
alleled wickedness. We do not yet know from what we have 
been preserved. Let a part of that property which has been saved 
from pillage be consecrated to God. 

Another cause of gratitude this day is. that so many have taken 
the side of law. 

From the pains that have been taken to forestal public opinion, 
from the Interference of interested persons from abroad, from the 
false reports circulated by hireling presses, it is not strange that a 
great excitement should have been raised on the subject of a 
written constitution. To strangers, ignorant of the practical ope- 
ration of the Charter, unacquainted with thecharacter of our pop- 
ulation, it might appear unaccountable, that the people of this 
State should have lived so long without some change in the form 
of government. Tlie very fact itself proves that they enjoyed 
sufficient liberty. For no people are more jealous of their rights, 
none better able to redress them. It has been said that the Char- 
ter made no provision for a change. But no charter, or form of 
government, is supposed to be perfect. The several acts of the 
Legislature, grafted upon that instrument, all go upon the suppo- 
sition that there could spring up no abuse that could not be cor- 
rected. And the fact that petitions from the people for a new 
constitution have been often presented, and frequently acted on, 
proves that a remedy was at hand, without overturning the gov- 
ernment. The reason, probably, why the late attempt was re- 
sisted was, that it originated in the most corrupt place in the na- 
tion : in the dark conclave of a society in a great city in another 
State. The people here felt that they were capable of changing 
their own form of government. Men of infidel sentiments were 
sent here to give public lectures, to stir up the people, and by 
perversion of truth, exaggerated statements and inflamatory ap- 
peals, to prepare the way for a revolution. And who that re- 



9 

members the mass meetings, the means employed to inflame the 
public mind, the nightly processions through these streets, the 
strong expression of public sentiment in favor of free suffrage, can 
refrain from gratitude that so many who desired a change in the 
form of government, were induced to pause where the line is drawn 
between political excitement and open rebellion. 

It has been well said by one of the ablest of British statesmen, 
speaking of" dethroning kings," or revolutionizing a government, 
" this question w ill always be, as it has aK\'ays been, an extraor- 
dinary question of state, and wholly out of the law ; a question 
(like all other questions of state,) of dispositions, of means, and 
of probable consequences, rather than of positive rights. As it 
was not made for common abuses, so it is not to be agitated by 
common minds. The speculative line of demarcation, where 
obedience ought to end, and resistance must begin, is faint, ob- 
scure, and not easily definable. It is not a single act, or a single 
event, which" determines it. Governments must be abused and 
deranged indeed,' before it can be thought of; and the prospect 
of the future must be as bad the experience of the jiast. When 
things are in that lamentable condition, the nature of the disease 
is to indicate the remedy to those whom nature has qualified to 
administer in extremities (his critical, ambiguous, bitter potion to 
a distempered state. Times, and occasions, and provocations, 
will teach their own lessons. The wise will determine from the 
gravity of the case ; the irritable from sensibility to oppression ; 
the high-minded from disdain and indignation at abusive power 
in unworthy hands ; the brave and bold from the love of honora- 
ble danger in a generous cause : but with or without right, a rev- 
olution will be the very last resource of the thinking and the 
good." 

The excitability of the public mind inspired hope in the lead- 
ers, and they, under the plausible pretence of securing the rights 
of the people, aimed at a revolution from purely selfish purposes. 
To the credit of great numbers, and to the praise of God, they 
turned away, when it became manifest that violence was to be 
used to establish a new government. When we think of the pride 
of opinion that is common to men, the anomaly of the existing 
2 



10 

government, the correctness of the principle avowed as the object 
to be obtained, to wit, the equably of representation and the right 
of suffrage, we must, while we bless God for his interposition, 
award due praise to all who stood forth in defence of the laws. 
Among them were many whose sympathies originally were with 
the suffrage party. But greater evils must exist, greater abuses 
be practised before any good reason can be given for overtLirninf 
the regular government. The favorable termination of this un- 
happy affair will afford many an opportunity of surveying the 
gulf they have escaped, and we hope none will refuse to give God 
the glory of our deliverance. 

Another cause of gratitude is, that the designs of the ivicked to 
overturn the government have been defeated. 

I would not knowingly do injustice to the opinions and conduct 
of any man, or set of men. According to the constitution of the 
United States, and the construction of the ablest jurists, these 
men have been guilty of treason. They have " levied war against 
the government." And had they succeeded, we should now, if 
living, be under an usurpation. In the face of positive enact- 
ments, and in defiance of fearful penalties, they went forward and 
organized a government, and took up arms to establish it. That 
all this was not the result of accident, that they were not carried 
on step by step by the force of circumstances, but that it was 
the result of deliberation and long continued effort, is capable of 
proof. 

It appears there is a set of men in our country, and some of 
them are in the Senate of the United Stales, others are editors of 
papers, who are ready for a revolution. The principles they 
avow would prostrate every regular government. They are the 
boasted champions of liberty, but they would bring us under the 
most intolerable despotism. To show that I do not speak unad- 
visedly, I will refer to facts. Read the speeches that have been 
made in New York, Boston and Philadelphia, at what are called 
sympathizing meetings. Read the outrageous articles, as false as 
they are abusive, in some of the papers published in tlie two 
former cities. Read the writings of one, who, when he lectured 
•and wrote on the laboring classes, was countenanced and -sup- 



11 

ported by these men, and by him, who is now a fugitive from 
justice. We are not ignorant of the treasonable doctrines he has 
put forth, and the wise and good of the old world read with as- 
tonishment such sentiments, while the reckless authors of them go 
abroad unmolested. Truly this is a free country. 

Listen to some sentiments published and defended by this sus- 
tained lecturer. In a book purporting to be a history of, him- 
self under a fictitious name, he says, "Wherever I went I beheld 
uijustice, oppression, inequality in wealth, social position, moral 
and intellectual culture, the many every where toiling for the 
few." " Wealth is every where, in practice at least, counted 
the supreme good, and every where its producers are the poor 
and wretched. They who toil not, spin not, are they who are 
clad in soft raiment, and fare sumptuously every day. What 
monstrous injustice is here. " Here priests, statesmen, lawyers, 
all boasting their services, and pretending to manage society as 
it ought to be managed. But what do they for the mass, the 
great, unprivileged, hard-handed many?" "O, it is a bad 
world ; society is all wrong. These iniquitous distinctions of 
class, this injustice, this oppression of the toiling many to feed 
the kxury and the vanity of the idle and worse than useless 
few, 7nust he redressed/' 

Here is an attempt to arm the poor against the rich by appeal- 
ing to prejudice and to cupidity, in fact to the worst passions. 
This great evil of the distinctions that exist in the world, must 
be redressed, and he has told us how. First, by the destruction 
of the priesthood. "The remedy," he says, "is first to be 
sought in the destruction of the priest. T[ie complete and final 
destruction of the priestly order in every practical sense of the 
word priest, is the first step to be taken towards elevating the 
laboring classes." The second means is the destruction of 
banks. "Uncompromising hostility to the whole banking sys- 
tem should, therefore, be the motto of every working man and 
every friend of humanit)^ The system must be destroyed." 

The third means for the accomplishment of his object is ahol- 
ishiiig hcrediiunj property. This is levelling with a witness. 
But it must be carried out, though at the expense of blood. He 
says, " it will be effected only by the strong hand of physical 



12 

force. It will come, if ever it come at all, only at the conclu- 
sion of a war the like of which the world as yd has never wit- 
nessed, and from which, however inevitahle it may seem to the 
eye of philosophy, the heart of humanity recoils with horror." 
There are also men in New England who openly avow the de- 
struction of all government, domestic and civil, of the Sahhath, 
and the ministry. Who can say then that the recent rehellion 
in this Stale is not the natural result of such horrible doctrines, 
and has followed in the train of such efforts. In proportion as 
these designs to subvert the government have been long cherish- 
ed and pu'ijlicly advocated should be our gratitude for the signal 
deliverance. 

It is a further cause of thanksgiving, that we are still sw' 
rounded ivith our civil and religious privileges. 

We may yet set under our own vine and fig-tree undisturhed. 
Had the insurgents succeeded, we should have been made hewers 
of wood and drawers of water. They had already in imagina- 
tion divided the estates of the city and distrihuted the civil offices; 
and as Jeroboam in his rebellion appointed priests of the lowest 
of the people, ministers would have been found of a character to 
uphold such proceedings. Let us bless God to-day that we are 
under wholesome laws, that our altars have not been polluted, 
that the light yet shines in this candlestick. 

Such are some of the causes of thanksgiving to-dav ; any one 
of ihem is sufficient to awaken the liveliest gratitude; combined 
they should lead to a life of praise and obedience. 

But thanksgiving is not the whole of our duty to-day. Impor- 
tant lessons are taught us by these events which we ought not to 
be slow to learn. We ought not to pass tlirough such scenes 
without improvement. 

1. We are taught the importance of correct principles in regard 
to government, both fimily and civil. 

We are not to suppose that the obstinacy and recklessness of 
one man, or of a few men, have brought upon us all these evils 
under which we have suffered. This rebellion threatened to be 
too general to be ascribed to such a cause. It was brought about 
both by remote and proximate causes. Why is the Sabbath now 
so well observed' Why are some places of common resort now 



13 

deserted on that day? It is owing to the vigor of wholesome law. 
There is a small portion of every class of a community who are 
regardless of all law. Many such have fled the state, or are in 
close confinement. The magistrates and public officers have been 
perhaps remiss in execuiing the hnvs, till the rebellious became 
bold and daring. They had no thought there would be spirit 
enough in the people to arise and put down opposition. When 
they saw men of standing and high character come forward, and 
even noble spirited sons of Rhode Island living in other states, 
return in defence of the laws, their spirits fainted and they fled. 
This rebellion, in a great measure, may be attributed to want of 
family government. A man who has been trained to obey wdien 
he was young, will not rise up against the government when he is 
old. A spirit of subordination should be inculcated in every 
department of life. Parents must do their duty, and like Abra- 
ham command their children and households after them. The 
whole country is in danger from this cause. In those districts 
where murders and mobs are most common there is no flimily 
government ; and a large portion of the children cannot read. 
They grow up in ignorance, slaves to their passions, submiitino- 
only to brute force. In our cities, there is little regard paid to 
family discipline; hence they are in danger of being ruled by 
mobs. Shall we not take warning by what we liave suffered 
and begin, if it be not too late to train up our children to strict 
obedience to law and government. 

2. It is evident that there exists a combination to rcvoJution- 
izc the country. It was not an oratorical flourish merely, when 
it was said by the pretended governor returning to the state with 
an armed force to establish his government, that Rhode Island 
would be the battle field for the liberties of America. It was no 
obscure intimation that many in every part of the land were in- 
terested in the result; it is fair to infer that if they had succeeded 
here, other movements would soon have been made elsewhere. 
The rebellion here was not an isolated diet but a part of a sys- 
tem. There can be no doubt that the second attempt to invade 
the regular government had never been hazarded, if assistance 
had not been promised from abroad. In reading the remarks of 
the agitators in other states, we see in their tones of disappoint- 



14 

ment, iheii- bitter reproaches, their shameless falsehoods, how 
deeply they sympathized with the insurgents. A single defeat 
will not cure the evil. These dark malignant spirits lurking 
about the hiding places of rcbelHon, will wait for another occasion 
to attack the citidel of constitutional liberty. This recent devel- 
opement should lead us to watch with more vigilance such men 
as Garrison, who is propagating errors of the worst character, 
openly assailing all government, the Holy Sabbath and the 
Christian Ministry; had b.e any influence he would be like the 
Bohan Uj)as, around which nothing that has life could grow — 
and Broivnson who has already had as many phases as the moon 
and who, if his influence were equal to his malignity, would ren- 
der many fit only to be tenants of the mad house ; who like 
Marius brooding over the ruins of Carthage, is now silently sur- 
veying the scene of anarchy and threatened death, which he aided 
to produce ; and Goodell, who more reckless than the rest, once a 
citizen of this state, and still bound to it by many ties, in letters over 
his own name, calls our constituted authorites, tyrants and usur- 
pers, justifies all that has been done to destroy our liberty, and 
under the name of Christian would commit outrages, wdiich be- 
long only to the school of the French Revolution. These are 
living men, and wdiat must be the state of morals and public 
sentiment, when they unblushingly and without prosecution erect 
their batteries against all that is sacred in right and privilege, all 
that is venerable in usage and law, all that is true and sound 
in political and religious institutions. 

Such clouds and vapor and smoke indicate too clearly the ex- 
istence of a crater whose subteranean fires are ready to burst 
forth, and when the catastrophe comes, a scene will be present- 
ed, from which, in the language of one of these men, " the heart 
of humanity recoils with horror." 

3. Another lesson taught us by these recent events, is, that 
threatening evils should be checked in the beginning. 

It is now acknowledged that it was a capital mistake to sufler 
these men to forestal the public mind. When they saw the 
apathy that prevailed they were emboldened to go forward. 
There was a want of energy in the government, which, however 
ainiable it may appear, opened the way for many of the evils we 



15 

have felt. The law is for the disobedient ; and if the stale, like a 
weak parent, forbeav ^^l)en it ought to correct, its requisitions will 
be treated with scorn, its threatnings with contempt. A counter 
government, ought never to have been organized ; if full confi- 
dence had been placed in the jiower of the law, and the first acts 
of rebellion punished, the arm of opposition had not been raised. 
The wicked are fiint hearted, they may put on the appearance 
of resistance but it is a rare step "to levy war against the gov- 
ernment." The guardians and executors of the law ought not 
to shrink from any just responsibility. If there is any faltering 
in those who fill important stations, the rebellious will take 
advantage. Now is the time to impress upon the minds 
of all men of all parties, the necessity of unqualified submission 
to wholesome laws. And it was truly gratifying to observe 
in the resolution of the Legislature, appointing this day, a 
distinct recognition of the great and solemn truth of a final 
and eternal retribution." Legislators do not always seem 
to feel that their acts will be reviewed in the day of judge- 
ment. The sentiments inculcated in the Proclamation are wise 
and salutary. If there is not a reverence for the laws of God in 
the minds of the people, and a full belief of the scriptures and 
all tlie doctrines they contain, human governments are vain, and 
legislative acts without power. It is to be hoped the constituted 
authorities, whether under the Old Charter, or under a written 
constitution will not recede from the high ground they have 
taken, but will vigorously maintain the supremacy of the law. 
The lawless and disobedient now find there is an arm they can- 
not resist with impunity ; nor should the vile slanders of corrupt 
presses be suffered to intimidate the officers of the government. 
They have a duty to perform which involves many great inter- 
ests ; the right performance of which will afiTect families and 
communities in all time to come. 

The violence of the storm which has agitated the great sea of 
life, has subsided, but we feel the ground-swell. Causes of irrita- 
tion yet remain. The principal offender is a fugitive from justice, 
his accomplices have notbeen tried, there is much secret sympa- 
thy with them, the com(nunity has been extremely poisoned — 
many roots of bitterness remain — There is a call for the exercise 



i 



16 

ot forbearance and forgiveness. The fact that the evil has infect- 
ed the churches, proves that there are consciences that need to be 
enhghtened, as well as understandings to be instructed. 

Here is a work for every one to do ; we are parts of a great 
coniniunily — our habitations are here — our friends are here; 
our business is here — sad divisions have taken place — friend 
has been arrayed a:,rainst friend, brother against brother; lines of 
alienation have nm through families and firms of business — While 
we thank God, this day for our deliverance, let us endeavor to 
reclaim to reason and duty those who have sinned by counten- 
ancing oj)posilion to the state. With our thanksgiving let our 
prayers ascend for their salvation. Let all animosity cease. If 
prosperity is again to return to the walks of business, and peace 
to the circles ol social intercourse, we must cherish the 'spirit of 
love. Here then as we come to offer our gifts, let us enquire if 
any brother or neighbor hath ought against us, and let us lay 
aside all bitterness, all evil speaking, and live hereafter, as those 
who have one common interest, and are travelling to one com- 
mon home. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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